Claims

1. A composition comprising a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and an inactivated influenza virus, wherein the inactivated influenza virus is made by (a) contacting an influenza virus with an effective amount of a photoactivatable hydrophobic compound to form a mixture of the influenza virus with the photoactivatable hydrophobic compound, and (b) exposing the mixture to light for a time sufficient to generate the inactivated influenza virus.

2. The composition of claim 1, wherein the photoactivatable hydrophobic compound is a compound of formula (I):X--Ar--Y Iwherein:Ar is a hydrophobic moiety; andX and Y are each independently hydrogen or a reactive group, provided that at least one of X or Y is a reactive group.

3. The composition of claim 2, wherein the Ar group is a moiety that preferentially partitions out of an aqueous environment and into a cellular or viral membrane.

4. The composition of claim 2, wherein the Ar group is a linear, branched, cyclic or acyclic hydrocarbon or a combination thereof.

5. The composition of claim 2, wherein the Ar group is a fatty acid, alkyl, adamantane, phenyl, naphthyl, anthracene, pyrene, or phenanthracene group.

6. The composition of claim 2, wherein the X and Y reactive groups separately are azido, halo, halo lower alkyl, diazirene, azidocarbonyl)oxy, haloacetamide, amine, maleimide, isocyanato, isothiocyanato, acyl halide, succinimidyl ester, or sulfosuccinimidyl ester.

7. The composition of claim 1, wherein the photoactivatable hydrophobic compound is azidobenzene, 1-azidonaphthalene, 4-azido-2-nitro-1-(phenylthio)benzene, 1-azido-4-iodobenzene, 1-azido-5-iodonaphthalene, 3-phenyl-3H-diazirene, 3-phenyl-3-(trifluoromethyl)-3H-diazirene, 3-(3-iodophenyl)-3-(trifluoromethyl)-3H-diazirene, 1-azidopyrene, adamantanediazirene, 12-(4-azido-2-nitrophenoxy)-stearic acid, w-(m-diazirinophenoxy)fatty acid, 12-[(azidocarbonyl)oxy]stearic acid, 12-azidostearic acid, 11-(3-azidophenoxy)undecanoic acid or w-(m-diazirinophenoxy)undecanoic acid.

8. The composition of claim 1, wherein the photoactivatable hydrophobic compound is 1,5-iodonaphthyl azide.

9. The composition of claim 1, wherein the light is ultraviolet light.

10. The composition claim 1, wherein the light is visible light and an effective amount of a photosensitizer chromophore is included in the mixture.

11. The composition of claim 10, wherein the photosensitizer chromophore is a porphyrin, chlorin, bacteriochlorin, purpurin, phthalocyanine, naphthalocyanine, merocyanines, carbocyanine, texaphyrin, or non-tetrapyrrole.

12. The composition of claim 10, wherein the photosensitizer chromophore is fluorescein, eosin, bodipy, nitro-benzo-diazol (NBD), erythrosine, acridine orange, doxorubicin, rhodamine 123, or picoerythrin.

13. The composition of claim 1, wherein unabsorbed photoactivatable hydrophobic compound is removed from the influenza virus before or after light exposure.

14. The composition of claim 1, wherein the inactivated influenza virus can bind to a mammalian cell but cannot fuse with the mammalian cell.

15. The composition of claim 1, formulated for administration to a mucosal surface.

16. The composition of claim 15, wherein the mucosal surface is a nasal surface.

17. The composition of claim 1, wherein the carrier is a buffered saline solution.

18. The composition of claim 1, wherein the carrier is an adjuvant.

19. The composition of claim 1, wherein the inactivated influenza virus exhibits about 90% to about 100% hemagglutinin activity of influenza viruses not treated with the photoactivatable hydrophobic compound.

20. The composition of 1-19 claim 1, wherein the inactivated influenza virus exhibits about 90% to about 100% neuraminidase activity of influenza viruses not treated with the photoactivatable hydrophobic compound.

21. The composition of claim 1, wherein the influenza virus is strain H3N2 influenza.

22. A composition comprising an inactivated influenza virus incubated with 1,5-iodonaphthylazide and exposed to light for a time sufficient to inactivate the influenza virus.

23. The composition of claim 1, wherein the inactivated influenza virus does not infect mammalian cells.

24. The composition of claim 22, wherein unabsorbed 1,5-iodonaphthylazide is removed from the influenza virus before or after light exposure.

25. The composition of claim 22, wherein the light is ultraviolet light.

26. A vaccine comprising an effective amount of the composition of claim 1.

27. A method of inactivating an influenza virus comprising contacting the virus with an effective amount of a photoactivatable hydrophobic compound to form a mixture of the influenza virus and the photoactivatable hydrophobic compound, and exposing the mixture to light for a time sufficient to inactivate the influenza virus and generate an inactivated influenza virus.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the light is ultraviolet light.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein the light is visible light and an effective amount of a photosensitizer chromophore is included in the mixture.

30. The method of claim 27, wherein the inactivated virus does not infect mammalian cells.

31. The method of claim 27, wherein the inactivated virus is an effective vaccine against viral infection of a mammal.

32. A method of treating or protecting a mammal against influenza viral infection comprising administering to the mammal an effective amount of the composition of claim 1.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the influenza infection is caused by a different strain of influenza than was used for making the composition.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein administration is intranasal.